He was the son of an ironmaster. He took piano lessons from his mother, and at the age of eleven was able to enter the Paris Conservatory. As a student he earned pocket-money by playing in the percussion section of orchestras in various theatres. He won a first prize for piano, and in 1863 he won the Prix de Rome, which took him to the Villa Medici. In Rome he met Liszt, through whom Massenet was to meet his future wife. His teacher, Ambroise Thomas, used his influence to obtain performances of Massenet's early work, and from then on there was no looking back - his success as an opera writer was unbroken until his death. From 1878 onward he was professor of composition at the Paris Conservatory.